Wooly diplomacy

Godfried cardinal Danneels of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, held a talk on liturgical renewal at The Catholic University of America. It is a point which I am quite interested in.

From what I have been able to read about it, it has been a significant and profound talk. But one sentence caught my attention :

"Participation and mutual celebration can lead to a subtle form of manipulation. ... Those who serve the liturgy, both priests and laity, become its owners" instead of its servants, he said. This can lead to trivializing the liturgy, eliminating the sacred and turning it from the worship it is supposed to be into a mere social event, he added.

The italics are mine. Either the cardinal is overly diplomatic - he very often is - or he is ill informed. Over the years I have seen more than subtle forms of manipulation by probably well intentioned but completely clueless priests and laity. I hope they will read the cardinal's speech, but will they get the point ?

See : http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0706157.htm.